NOT KNOWING OTHER AFRICAN AMERICAN BEREAVED DEMENTIA CAREGIVERS: SEMISTRUCTURED INTERVIEW RESULTS

Abstract Semi-structured interviews focused on African American bereaved dementia caregivers and the individual who may serve them in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. The four questions that drove these interviews were linear in nature: 1. What needs exist among African American bereaved dementia caregivers in the Twin Cities? 2. What services exist to help these individuals meet their needs? 3. If unmet needs exist, would the group support model meet those needs? and, 4. If this model is promising, what adaptations might it need to best serve African American bereaved dementia caregivers? Interviews showed that needs exist at points before and after caregiving ends to increase education and destigmatize dementia in African American communities to facilitate understanding, acceptance, and validation during and after caregiving. Support from those who have gone through similar situations is increasingly important both during and after dementia caregiving, but identifying those in similar situations is difficult (few could identify any other African American Bereaved Dementia Caregivers besides themselves). While a culturally specific support group model was of interest to some to create a feeling of comfort, others emphasized that the main importance was a bonding over shared experiences, regardless of cultural background. A former dementia caregiver support group might be held in various locations and hosted by varying individuals, including at a church, hair salon, or even a grocery store. Overall, it was seen as important for there to be a specific meaning, purpose, and goals for a group of African American former dementia caregivers.

3. University of Minnesota, Center for Healthy Aging and Innovation,Minneapolis,Minnesota,United States,4. Arizona State University,Tempe,Arizona,United States Sheryl Fairbanks and Warren Wolfe had insight into the experiences of bereaved dementia caregivers, having cared for four parents, two of whom had dementia, who all died within 14 months of each other after 12 years of care.After taking some time to grieve and settling an entire generation's estates, Ms. Fairbanks and Mr. Wolfe sought resources to help them re-engage in life following caregiving.Here they were uniquely qualified to find what resources might exist.Mr. Wolfe had been a newspaper reporter and editor for four decades.Two of these decades were spent covering aging and in 2010 he was a member of the GSA Journalists in Aging Fellows Program.Likewise, Ms. Fairbanks attended GSA in 2015 as a journalist and editor as they contacted experts across the country seeking resources for bereaved dementia caregivers.While many sympathized with the need for such resources, few could be found, and it was suggested that maybe Mr. Central to this project was recruiting and learning from African American people, who are underrepresented in Bereaved Dementia Caregiver research.Initially this project was conceptualized with the intent of recruiting a wide range of people of African or Caribbean descent, given the geographic presence of large contingents of African Immigrants in the Twin Cities of Minnesota.In talking to our community partners prior to launch, we elected to restrict participation to those who identified as, or identified as serving, African Americans specifically.Our recruitment strategies were largely informed by deep community engagement built through academic, personal, and non-profit partnerships over several years.We also sought to synergize recruitment efforts for this project with another effort targeting augmentations of dementia friendliness in local African American churches.In discussing recruitment strategies we also sought to hear from those who may not be those traditionally heard from.For instance, to include younger individuals, we recruited contacts through our local Alzheimer's Association chapter's Young Champions group.Likewise, because churches are often a major source of African American participant recruitment, we contacted individuals at the Volunteers of America to recruit.Finally, we intentionally broke our recruitment plan into stages (recruiting a handful of individuals at a time) to ensure that participants could nominate those they thought might be most important to hear from within their own communities.This intellectual humility was essential to doing this work properly and maximizing the potential of our results to help African American Bereaved Dementia Caregivers.

THE CANNABIS AND OLDER PERSONS STUDY: MOVING ALONG A ROAD FROM ANIMAL MODELS TO STATE CAPITOLS Chair: Brian Kaskie
The Cannabis and Older Persons Study has examined the increasing use of cannabis among Americans over 60 years old since 2016.This year's symposium presents varied methodological approaches researchers have used to better understand the relationship between age and cannabis use.Barry Setlow examines how cannabis use corresponds with age-associated synaptic dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and tau pathology in animal models (younger v older rats), and how such association may contribute to cognitive aging.Nicole Ennis examines the association between cannabis use and simulated driving performance among adults aged 50 and older focusing on response time, attention, and executive functioning tasks that predict on-road performance.Yan Wang examines short and long-term effects of medical marijuana use among older adults using ecological momentary assessments.Divya Bhagianadh analyzes responses provided by 1398 older persons who completed a special module concerning cannabis use as part of the Health and Retirement Survey and applies a multi-level framework to better understand how cannabis use is shaped by individual attitudes and health status.Fadi Martinos considers how state medical cannabis program eligibility criteria and provider qualifications contribute to cannabis access and use among older adults.Together, these studies reflect how scientific understanding of cannabis use and aging has been informed by the application of multiple disciplinary perspectives, and how researchers use different methodological approaches to identify both desirable and undesirable outcomes associated with cannabis use among older adults.This symposium offers policy makers, program administrators and clinicians empirically-based insights concerning how cannabis use affects older adults.
Abstract citation ID: igad104.0034Barry Setlow, Sabrina Zequeira, Emely Gazarov, and Jennifer Bizon, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States Cannabis and cannabinoids such as THC (the major psychoactive component of cannabis) tend to impair cognitive performance, but almost all research on this topic has been conducted in young adults.Given that many aged individuals already exhibit cognitive deficits, it is important to determine how cannabis/cannabinoids affect cognition in this population.We used an animal model (young adult and aged rats) to evaluate the effects of both acute cannabis smoke and chronic oral THC on several tests of cognitive function.Both acute smoke (males only) and chronic THC (both sexes) enhanced working memory in aged rats, but neither affected young adults.In contrast, both regimens tended to impair performance on tests of spatial/episodic memory in an ageindependent manner.Results suggest that although cannabis has potential for cognitive benefits in aging, its effects likely depend on both the cognitive domain tested and the manner in which it is administered.Driving is a complex and dynamic task requiring divided attention (DA), awareness of the traffic and surroundings while focusing on critical stimulus.The goal of this project was to examine the relationship between medical marijuana use and divided attention in adults 50 and older during a simulated driving performance task.We recruited adults 50 and older (N=20) pre-exposure to medical marijuana and followed them for the first 3 months of use.Driving performance was examined at baseline (pre-exposure to medical marijuana) and 1-month post medical marijuana exposure During a driving performance identification task that appeared in central or peripheral vision during the simulated drive, DA was assessed as a triangle that appeared on screen at pre-programmed intervals to which participants were required to press a button on the dashboard in response.Results showed that at 1-month post-medical marijuana initiation the 7-day pattern of use could be classified as light, moderate, or heavy.Further, there was a trend of improved performance among medical marijuana users 50 and older with moderate to heavy use having the best performance on the DA.We attribute these findings to the stimulant properties of medical marijuana and improved sleep reported by participants.

EFFECTS OF ACUTE AND CHRONIC CANNABIS/ CANNABINOIDS ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION ACROSS THE LIFESPAN
Abstract citation ID: igad104.0036

REAL-TIME HEALTH OUTCOMES AMONG OLDER ADULTS INITIATING MEDICAL CANNABIS FOR CHRONIC PAIN
Yan Wang 1 , Kimberly Sibille 1 , Zhigang Li 1 , Rene Przkora 1 , Seigfried Schmidt 1 , Margaret Lo 1 , Ana Abrantes 2 , and Robert Cook 1 , 1. University of Florida,Gainesville,Florida,United States,2. Brown University,Providence,Rhode Island,United States Background: Rigorous data are needed on the short-and long-term effects of medical cannabis (MC) on older adults with chronic pain.In response, this prospective study combines technology-based ecological momentary assessments (EMA) and in-person visits over 12 months to obtain subjective and objective data on MC's effects on older adults.

RECRUITING THE MINORITIZED: AFRICAN AMERICAN BEREAVED DEMENTIA CAREGIVERS
Wolfe and Ms. Fairbanks ought to create a group to help bereaved dementia caregivers figure out what was next after caregiving.In 2016 they created the Former Dementia Caregiver Re-Entry Initiative, which has helped more than 60 members figure out the next steps for themselves, re-engaging with life after caregiving.They have talked about hundreds of topics, laughed a lot, cried at times, disclosed deep fears, shared small and big discoveries about themselves, and generally have found a firmer footing as they have embarked on this new journey.